FSU football: Why Adam Fuller’s defense will have a better showing against Louisville

The Key To The Defense

The key to the defense Friday night will be to force Louisville to execute long drives the entire night. They have been undisciplined through two games with 19 penalties.

Louisville’s average starting field position last year was their 31-yard line. Special teams have to improve that number for the defense.

FSU must avoid explosive plays and get off the field on third down. The key to that is having more success in the early downs and making Louisville more predictable. They had way too many third and five and fewer opportunities in last year’s game.

So if we go back to 2020 and compare it to 2021, we can see the progression. They allowed 48 points in 2020 and 31 in 2021. The yards per play allowed went from 9.32 ypp to 4.87 ypp. That’s a significant progression, and I expect that to continue Friday night.

The last two years have been more about what FSU couldn’t do or didn’t have compared to Louisville’s offense.

Malik Cunningham is a very good QB, and he’ll make some plays. FSU will be in a position to make a play and will miss a tackle here and there.

However, I think everything is in place for the FSU defense to show out Friday night. They’ve had a bye week to prepare and the experience and talent to hold Louisville in check.

They just need the offense to avoid multiple turnovers and short fields, and they’ll be fine.